River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1887-06-02
JOHN Ii. COUGH.

JOHN Ii. COUGH.
John b. Cough believed that his end
was near, and he had made every
preparation for it, He had engage
ments until some time in March, and
he said that if he was spared to fill
them he would then bid farewell TO the
lecture field. Only a few days before
he was stricken down he talked for an
hour with Star reporter The writer
had not seen him for several years, and
Mr. Cough asked if he appeared much
older than at their last meeting
When answered in the affirmative, he
said in almost pathetic ZONES:
Yes, my career is nearly run. /
fear when my engagements which end
in March. are finished viii have to
give up"
you may live long time yet if you
take sufficient rest, remarked the re-
porter.
REST is what would hasten the end, -
he said, flor it is the love have
for my work that keeps me
alive. do not fear death;
but l do not want to leave as long as
can hold my hand against that diabolical
foe, rum. If my strength holds out. /
shall make other engagements, and
when | die, hope it viii be as the
FIR, nch sergeant, at my post of duty,
and then could say to my old foe, ]
have surrendered only to my God
1You have made strong fight"
Yes, and my antagonist has been a
cruel one. For every blow have dealt
| nave received two. No man has had
to endure more than |. | have been
slandcred from the very day that | en-
listed in the fight against rum up to
the present time, but | expected it and
have never once been disheartened.
Thousands of attempts have been made
to blackmail me, but none of them sue
ceeded. / have no doubt butthat plenty
of good people believe that / drank
after beginning my temperance work.
But / say now realizing that my work
is nearly done. that | could not have
led a more correct life than | have
since that time. Not long ago, while
conversing with some friends, | was
seized with terrible pains in my left
side. and | screamed in my agony.
One of the persons resent was a
physician, and he advised me to take
a little brandy | refused and he said
there was certainly no harm in doing
so, as it would give me instant relief.
| said / was satisfied that was so
but that | preferred death. While it
would have been no harm to me, per-
haps, harm wonld have resulted to the
cause of temperance. People would
have said that John b. Cough drank,
and it would have been added that
did not believe it wrong to take drink
once in a while.
another thing that / have never
done is to break the Sabbath day.
have never Travelled on Sunday. and /
have never hesitated in breaking an
engagement rather than do so. | new
er receive visitors on that day. no mat
ter who they are. If it is possible | 90
to church twice, and always walk;
would not think of riding. Now don't
understand that think it wonld be a
sin to do SO, as but, | said before, /
have to be careful, so as to avoid giving
the champions of rum an opportunity to
in-iure my character. 1t used to be no
common thing for glass of whiskey
TO be sent to my room at various hotels,
and after | left the place it would be
said that I had WhisEey sent to my
room. Not long ago. at hotel in an
Indiana town, two theatrical people or
dered a negro to carry glass OF whis-
KEY TO my room. In few minutes he
returned TO the bar with the empty
glass and said that Mr.. Cough was
very mnch obliged The actors thought
it was a very good joke. and they told
the negro to carry me another. In the
course of few minutes he again re-
turned and said that MI Cough again
was very much obliged. The third was
ordered with the same result. While
the negro was being dispatched with
the fourth, the report was current that
was drinking whiskey As fast as it
could be sent TO me. This attracted
quite crowd to the barroom. When
the negro returned he was so drunk
that he could hardly wall He knew
well that ! would rot allow him in my
room with whiskey, so he drank it him
self.
..Once in a PENNSYLVANIA hotel a man
ordered the bartender to send a cock
tail to nv room. When the waiter
arrived at my door with it | instantly
ordered him away and then followed
him to the barroom. Did you send that
to me?' | asked the bartender. He said
he did, and | said, Don't you think
you ares contemplate curg He turned
red in the face and pointed to the man
that ordered it. He was the proprietor
of a saloon, and simply asked him if it
was necessary TO answer my arguments
against intemperance by retorting to
such contemplate tricks as that. He
could not answer me.
1.-The story going the rounds of the
press ABOUT AGltlnuS W dIOs Nasty anu
the Fat Contributor coming to my room
and ordering four cocktails and Ward
drinking two of them, to give the inn
preston that | drank one, is not cor
rect. They innocentlv came to call on
me on Sunday at the fremont house in
Chicago. politely requested them to
leave. as | did not receive visitors or |
the Sabbath They did so, but the |
Fat Contributor went and had it pub
lished that ] did receive them. Next |
lay we all met at the depot, and Anna
who was present. excoriated |
the Fat Contributor, as did Artemus
Ward
Not long ago a basket of wine was
sent to me c. o. ID. Fortunately, the |
express agent was temperance man
and friend of mine, and h, told me
about il. sent for my physician and
instructed him to get the wine and send /
il TO the hospital. Suppose had inno-
Gently paid the charges and taken the
vine out? 1t would have been very /
difficult for me to have explained.
As for the number of blackmail let